THE POWER OF 1%

In a world that never pauses, many of us wait for the perfect moment, free from distractions or unforeseen events before taking on anything new. This is especially true when it comes to getting started on anything to do with health. Now this may not be you, and if not congratulations. But just take a look at how many New Year's resolutions are never even started.

This idea of having the “ideal time” isn't a thing.The truth is, life doesn’t stop happening. And the longer you push it off, the less likely you are to even start, leaving you spending even more time persisting in habits that are not serving your body. Here’s a revolutionary thought: you don't need to commit 100% in order to achieve significant, meaningful, long-lasting results.

It's true. The reality is that it's not those massive, one-time actions that make the lasting impact. Instead, it's those small things done consistently over time that make a big difference and allow you to hit those goals you have.

Think about your car for a moment: if you only had one car for the rest of your life, how would you take care fof it? Would you wait for a major breakdown before taking it to the mechanic? Or would you attend to those small details—regularly checking the oil, maintaining the fluids, and washing and vacuuming it frequently, covering it or parking it in a garage? Of course you would because you know that those small things will make a difference to the longevity of your car. Just like that car in your driveway drives you around town, your body is the vehicle that drives you through life, and you only get one. No trade-ins, lease agreements, or upgrades. One.

It's understandable if you can’t dive in and be 100 percent committed all the time—nobody can. Humans are not perfect, nor were we meant to be and it's unreasonable and unproductive to believe you should be. We don’t expect perfection from our children, spouses, friends, or coworkers. We recognize their imperfections and offer grace, something we need to extend to ourselves.

The solution lies in accepting that life events – good, bad or indifferent - are not going to stop happening, and start adopting the mindset of being all-in, at one percent. Everyone can do something one percent better for their health today than they did yesterday. It's like, how you eat the elephant, one bite at a time.

If you’re not a water drinker and today you add a glass of water to your meals, awesome, that's one percent.. Finding it hard to fit in that workout or daily movement so today you parked at the back of the lot and walked up to the grocery store, another one percent. If you typically skip breakfast but today you took two mins to grab a protein shake as you leave the house rather than the drive-thru double double or caramel macchiato, another one percent. You get the idea.

Starting small and committing to be all-in at one percent makes doing those things that you know are good for your health manageable and as you keep showing up for yourself, doing your one percent daily, these small changes have a compound effect. Just like your investments compound and grow over time, investing in your health also compounds and the ROI is definitely worth more than what you put in to get there.

As you keep showing up for yourself, doing your one percent each day, habits start to emerge. Habits morph into patterns, and patterns develop brain grooves that keep us going and pointed in the right direction. Like pushing a wheelbarrow back and forth over soft ground, eventually a groove is formed making it easier for the wheelbarrow to stay in the groove. The more times the barrow passes over, the deeper the groove, the more difficult for it to come out of that track.

Health is a journey and like any journey, it begins with the first small step. So stop thinking you're going to start when; you're less busy, work slows down, work speeds up, kids are on holidays, kids go back to school, your company leaves, you get back from vacation, etc., and just do it.

There will never be a perfect time to start, start anyway. Commit to doing one percent better for your health today than you did yesterday and be all-in, at one percent.

For more ways to improve your health, watch Tania's Free video.